Re: Stallman calls for an end to file sharing war

From:

Alan Mackenzie

Subject:

Re: Stallman calls for an end to file sharing war

Date:

Wed, 08 Dec 2010 16:03:04 -0000

User-agent:

tin/1.6.2-20030910 ("Pabbay") (UNIX) (FreeBSD/4.11-RELEASE (i386))

Hi, Ben!
In gnu.misc.discuss Ben Pfaff <address@hidden> wrote:
> Alan Mackenzie <address@hidden> writes:
>> In gnu.misc.discuss Ben Pfaff <address@hidden> wrote:
>>> Alan Mackenzie <address@hidden> writes:
>>>> How about approach 2A: allow free copying of music and films, but
>>>> instead of paying artists out of taxes, they get paid by a levy on
>>>> high speed internet lines. A levy of, say $50 a year, or $100 a
>>>> year could provide handsome income to musicians and film-makers.
>>>> There are obviously difficult practical issues to sort out, but
>>>> given how badly copyright now misworks the levy would probably work
>>>> better.
>>> I don't download music or films (legally or illegally). Why should I
>>> pay such a fee?
>> To support your country's musicians and film makers.
> I write free software in my spare time. Why not require ISP users to
> pay a fee to support me, too? It wouldn't have to be a lot of money
> per person, as long as everyone with an Internet connection was
> required to pay me.
Hey, I write free software too. :-) I also don't download music or
films (apart from very occasionally non-copyright recordings).
Why shouldn't we get a bit from an Internet fee? Probably because the
system would be swiftly subverted by some firm like Oracle or Microsoft,
and we'd all end up paying them. Maybe. I do think your question is a
genuine one, not just a rhetorical one.
--
Alan Mackenzie (Nuremberg, Germany).